Vehicle body compartment closure operating mechanism



Nov.11,1964 w. J. HARMS Em 3,157,429v

VEHICLE BODY COMPARTMENT CLOSURE OPERATING MECHANISNI Original Filed March 2, 1960 y W/LL/AM J. HAR/|45 AL FRED 5. L E/N/NGER INVENTOQ;

ATTORNEYS United States Patent O This invention relates generally to motor vehicle bodie in which certain compartment closures, such as luggage compartment lids, are preferably raised or lowered and unlatched or latched by a power operated mechanism.

This application is a division or copending application Serial No. 12,436, filed March 2, 1960, now Patent No. 3,059,962, entitled Vehicle Eody With Retractable Rigid Top.

in many conventional convertible vehicles now being produced, the foldahle top structure, whether it be fabricated of fabric or rigid material, is movable by a power operated folding and transporting mechanism from an extended or passenger compartment protecting position to a folded or stored position within the luggage compartment to the rear of the passenger compartment. With a power operated top structure, it is to be expected that the storage or luggage compartment lid would also be power operated so that it could be sequentially unlatched and raised to receive the top structure and then lowered and latched when the top structure is nested within the luggage compartment. By the provision of such power operated mechanism, whether it be for raising and lowering the top and opening or closing the deck lid, the vehicle operator is able to convert the vemcle from an open to a closed ear or vice versa without leaving his seat.

The present invention is particularly directed to the provision of an improved and positive acting mechanism operative to sequentially unlatch, raise, lower and latch the compartment closure structure. he improved structure comprises a power operated means having extensible closure lifting and lowerinfT means supported on the vehicle body structure. A lever means is pivotally mounted on bracket means carried on the compartment closure, the lever means being pivotally coupled to the extensibleV means. The lever means is coupled to a latch means carried by the compartment closure, the latch means in latched position being engageahle with a keeper device mounted on the body structure. When the compartment closure is in lowered position and the power operated means is operated to raise the same, the first movement of the extensime means in closure raising direction actuates the lever means to unlatch the latch means from the keeper device. After the unlatching action is completed, a part of the lever means engages an abutment means on the compartment closure structure whereby liftingrorce of the extensible mems is transmitted directly to the compartment closure structure to open the latter by swinging the same about a hinge structuresupporting the closure structure on the body. Upon operation or the power operated means to lower the compartment closure, the lever means remain in contact with the abutment means until the compartment closure isrfully lowered. At this time further movement of the extensible means is transmitted through the lever means to the latch means urging the latter into latching engagementwith the'keeper device. This cons me ion fand arrangement provides a simple eracient mechanism always operable in proper sequence to unlatch, raise, lower and latch the compartment closure to the vehicle body. 1

Other obiects and advantages of this invention will be v made more apparent as this description proceeds, particu- "ice larly when considered in connection with the accompanying draw ing, wherein:

FlG. l is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the top storage compartment closure or deck lid in raised position and more particularly showing the mechanism for raising and lowering the latter and the latch mechanism associated therewith;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational View illustrating the compartment closure raising and lowering linkage and the compartment closure latching mechanism associated therewith; and

PEG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially through the line 3 3 of FiG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring no-w to the drawings, there is illustrated a preferred construction and arrangement of a power 0perated mechanism for raising and lowering a luggage cornpartment closure or rear deck lid il, the mechanism having associated therewith a latch device for latching the deck lid in lowered or compartment closing position.

The closure or deck lid l?. is supported at its lower rear edge on simple strap hinges 12. it is adapted to be swung upwardly and rearwardly, or in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2, to provide access to the luggage or storage compartment 1.3. The power operatedV mechanism for raising the compartment closure or deck lid 1l comprises a pair of iackscrew devices, each generally designated ld, located at each rear corner of theV storage compartment 13, only one of which is visible in the drawing. The lower end l5 of the jackscrew device id is pivotally mounted on a suitable bracket 16 mounted on the door l? of the storage compartment 13. The lifting screw i8 o the jackscrew device 14 is driven through a conventional worm and gear drive (not shown), the worm being rotated by a flexible cable i9 coupled to a centrally positioned electric motor Z1. It will be understood that the electric motor 21 is provided with a double ended output shaft so that the single motor may drive flexible cables which lead to the jackscrew devices 14 located at each side of the storage or luggage compartment.

The upper end 22 of the lifting screw 1S is pivotally connected at 23 to a depending arm 24 of a bell crank lever generally designated 25. The bell crank lever 2S is pivotally mounted on a bracket 25 held by bolts 27 to the underside of a structural member 2S of the luggage compartment closure or rear deck lid outer shell 29. The bell crank lever 2S is provided with a generally upstanding arm 3l. The ar El is pivotally connected to one end of a draft link 32 which extends beneath the upper skin structure 2? of the deck lid il toward the front edge 33 1vereof. The forward end of the draft link 32 is coupled to a slidable latch bolt 34 which is slidably guided in a sleeve 3S welded or otherwise secured to the underside of a channel member 3o secured by bolts 37 to the underside of the structural members reinforcing the Vouter shell 29 of the deck lid ll. As best seen in FIG. 2, the latch bolt is provided with a depending lug 38 which limits the retraction of the latch bolt relative to the sleeve The latch bolt 34 is adapted to engage a keeper 39 in the form of a sleeve provided with a dependingilange portion. The flange portion is adapted to receive bolts d3 for holding the Vkeeper to the side wall of the vehicle body rear quarter panels di. The latch bolt 34 is provided with a suitably tapered nose portion 45 to provide easy entrance into the keeper sleeve portion 3? thereby compensating for any misalignment of the deck lid structure ll with the cria-.rterpanel dal and the quarter panel (not shown) on the other side of the vehicle body- The operation of the deck lid raising and lowering mechanism and its associated latching mechanism isrelatively simple. With the deck lid structure l1 in lowered position, the lifting screw i8 is telescoped within the outer housing of the jackscrew device 14. Upon rotation of the electric motor 2l in the proper direction, the lifting screw 18 of the jackscrew device 14 moves away from the vehicle storage compartment iloor 17. As the screw i8 moves away or upwardly, it swings the bell crank lever Z in a clockwise direction as viewed in FG. 2. It will be noted that there is a certain degree of clearance between the end of the arm 2 4 of the bell crank lever 25 and the opposed surface 46 or the bracket 26, providing, in effect, arlost motion connection. Thislost motion connection has the purpose of permitting the bell crank lever 2S to swing suiiciently far in a clockwise direction to cause retraction of the latch bolt 34 from the keeper device 3% before any attempted lifting force is applied to the deck lid structure 11. With the latch bolt 3e retracted from the keeper 39 and with the bell crank arm 24 engaging the surface 46 of the bracketze, the lifting forceof the lifting screw 13 will then be applied directly to the underside of the rear deck lid. The latter will then be swung upwardly about its pivotal mounting or hinges l2 to the substantially upright position shown in FIG. l. When this upward swinging movement is completed, a suitable limit switch (not shown) may be actuated to permit operation of a top retracting mechanism (not shown) when the top is to be retracted or to permit operation of the mechanism when the top is to be removed from the storage compartment and extended over the passenger compartment.

When the deck lid structure is to be loweredor retracted, the electric motor 2l will be energized to rotate the drive cable 19 in a reverse direction and through the power train causing the lifting screw 1S to be retracted within the jackscrew device M. Since the weight of the deck lid structure l1 isin a downward direction, the bracket surface 46 will remain in abutting relation to the bell crank arm 24 until the deck lid is completely lowered and its forward lip portion 33 and side'portions are engaged with the edges of the quarter panels. vWhen the deck lid structure is down as far as it can go,`the lifting screwl will continue to pull down on the bell crank lever arm 24 causing the bell crank 25 to be swung in a counterclockwise direction, as Viewed in FIG. 2, thereby pushing the draft link 32 to the left causing the bolt to be extended into engagement with the keeper 39. As was stated above, the bolt is provided with a downwardly extending lug 38 which engages the edge portion of the guide sleeve 35 when the deck lid structure is being raised. This prevents the bolt' from being retracted too far and also assists in the lockup of the bell crank lever as its arm 24 engages the surface 46 of the bracket 26 so that the force of the lifting screw 1S will be applied directly tothe deck lid structure 11.

As noted above, there are preferably two jackscrew devices and associated latching mechanisms, one system for each side of the luggage compartment. Also, it is believed readily apparent that hydraulic power cylinders Y would be equally applicable to the system in place of the jackscrew devices 194.

It will be understood that the invention is not V`to be limited 'to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invert-i tion, Vas defined in the appended claims.

We claim: Y

1. Inamotor vehicle body; t Y Y a rear deck lid pivotally connected to said body and providing a storage space therebeneath; v power operatedY means for raising andlowering said decklid, f l. i'

saidrpower operated means comprising extensible means mounted on said vehicle body; bracket means mounted on'said deck lid, y said bracket means having'an abutment portion thereon; lever means pvotlly mounted on said bracket means il and operatively pivotally coupled to said extensible means for movement by the latter;

latch means carried by said deck lid;

and link means coupling said latch means to said lever means;

said lever means in deck lid lowered position being movable by said extensible means to a degree suicient to unlatch said latch means and having a part thereof engageable with said abutment means to transmit lifting force from said extensible means directly to said deck lid to open the latter.

2. ln a motor vehicle body;

a rear deck lid pivotally connected to said body adjacent its rearward end and providing a storage space therebeneath; f

power operated means for raising and lowering said deck lid, Y Y

said power operated means comprising extensible means supported on said vehicle body;

bracket means mounted on said deck lid;

lever means pivotally mounted on said bracket means f and coupled to said extensible means for movement by the latter; Y 1

a retractable latch means carried by said deck lid;

link means coupling said latch means to said lever means;

and a keeper device carried by said body;

said extensible means in deck lid lowered position being lirst operative to move said lever means suciently to retract said latch means from said keeper device and then sequentially being operative to transmit lifting force directly to said deck lid to open the latter,

said latch means remaining retracted until said, deck lid is returned to a closed position uponretraction of said extensible means,

said extensible means being retractable beyond said deck lid closed position to swing said lever means `in a direction to extend said latch means into engagement with said keeper device.

3. In a motor vehicle body have a closure structure swingably mounted thereon,

extensible means supported on said body for raising and lowering said closure structure,

lever means mounted on said closure structure and coupled to said extensible means for movement by Y the latter upon extension and retraction thereof,

latch means carried by said closure structure,

link means connecting said latch means to said lever means,

said extensible means in closure latched and lowered position being operative upon actuation in extension direction to move said lever means in a direction to cause unlatching of said latch means,

and means inhibiting'further movement of said lever meansV after completion of the unlatching movement of said latch means,

said inhibiting means causing further actuation of said extensible means in extension direction to be exerted directly on said closure to raise the same.

4. Ina motor vehicle body, Y Y

a closure structure swingably mounted thereon, y

extensible'means pivotally supported on Vsaid body for raising and lowering said closure structure,

levermeans pivotally mounted ontsaid closure structure and pivotally coupled to said, extensible means, said lever means being movable on said closure struc- Y ture during predetermined phases of the extension and retraction of said extensible means, t slidable latch means carried by said closure structure, link means'connecting said latch means to said lever means for movement thereby in latching directions, i said extensible means in closure lowered and latched latching .and kun- YV position being effective upon extension'to move said' lever means in a direction to cause unlatching of said latch means.

and stop means blocking further movement of said lever means after completion of the unlatching movement of said latch means,

said stop means causing further extension of said extensible means to raise said closure.

5. In a motor vehicle body,

a closure structure swingably mounted thereon,

power operated extensible means supported on said body for raising and lowering said closure structure,

lever means mounted on said closure structure and coupled to said extensible means for movement thereby,

latch means carried by said closure structure,

link means connecting said latch means to said lever means for movement thereby in latching and unlatching directions,

and a keeper device mounted on said vehicle body and engageable by said latch means,

said extensible means in closure lowered and latched position being effective during initial extension movement thereof to move said lever means in a direction to cause unlatching of said latch means from said keeper device,

and stop means preventing further movement of said lever means after completion of the unlatching movement of said latch means,

said extensible means then applying its extension force directly to said closure structure to raise the latter.

6. Tn a motor vehicle body,

a closure structure swingably mounted thereon,

extensible means having one end pivotally anchored to said body and the other end movable relative to the anchored end,

lever means pivotally mounted on said closure structure and coupled to the movable end of said extensible means,

latch means carried by said closure structure,

and link means extending between said latch means and lever means,

said lever means in closure lowered position being movable by said extensible means in a direction to unlatch said latch means,

an abutment means on said closure structure,

said lever means after completion of the unlatching movement abutting said abutment means and causing said extensible means to apply lifting force directly to said closure structure to raise the latter.

7. In a motor vehicle body,

a closure structure swingably mounted thereon,

extensible means having one end pivotally anchored to said body and the other end movable relative to the anchored end,

lever means pivotally mounted on said closure structure and coupled to the movable end of said extensible means,

latch means carried by said closure structure,

and link means extending between said latch means and lever means,

said lever means in closure lowered position being movable by said extensible means in a direction to uniatch said latch means,

an abutment means on said closure structure,

said lever means after completion of the unlatching movement abutting said abutment means and causing said extensible means to apply lifting force directly to said closure structure to raise the latter,

said lever means remaining in engagement with said abutment means until the closure structure is returned to a closed position by retraction of said eX- tensible means.

said extensible means being retractable until said latch means is in a relatched condition.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNTED STATES PATENTS 2,352,929 Worgess July 4, 1944 2,594,643 Gustisha Apr. 29, 1952 2,869,923 Mulichak Jan. 20, 1959 

1. IN A MOTOR VEHICLE BODY; A REAR DECK LID PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID BODY AND PROVIDING A STORAGE SPACE THEREBENEATH; POWER OPERATED MEANS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING SAID DECK LID, SAID POWER OPERATED MEANS COMPRISING EXTENSIBLE MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID VEHICLE BODY; BRACKET MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID DECK LID, SAID BRACKET MEANS HAVING AN ABUTMENT PORTION THEREON; LEVER MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID BRACKET MEANS AND OPERATIVELY PIVOTALLY COUPLED TO SAID EXTENSIBLE MEANS FOR MOVEMENT BY THE LATTER; LATCH MEANS CARRIED BY SAID DECK LID; AND LINK MEANS COUPLING SAID LATCH MEANS TO SAID LEVER MEANS; SAID LEVER MEANS IN DECK LID LOWERED POSITION BEING MOVABLE BY SAID EXTENSIBLE MEANS TO A DEGREE SUFFICIENT TO UNLATCH SAID LATCH MEANS AND HAVING A PART 